Back when the young midfielder made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That statement proved to be something of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first summons to the senior Three Lions squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a true throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, never mind featuring in the Premier League and representing England as well,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for me and my family.”
So how did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Learning in non-league
His path in football has not been a typical one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my friends at weekends because I missed almost four and a half years of doing that. To have that little bit of youth again was a thing I really needed.
“To gain some confidence by coming back and playing island football was massive for me. It was probably one of the most important factors that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the next day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against Luton.
He made 83 league appearances for the club while in his teens, often being used as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Less than three months later, he signed for the Cherries for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the club, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost several months.
“There was a decent run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“It was yet another obstacle and it was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun this season just as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” Scott said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
